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Young-onset Parkinson’s disease: the challenges and treatment options

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Author: Parkinson's Life editorsPublished: 14 June 2017

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This month’s free webinar from the Michael J Fox Foundation will discuss the challenges and treatment of young-onset Parkinson’s disease

On Thursday 15 June at 12:00 EST the Michael J Fox Foundation will be broadcasting the latest episode in their Third Thursday webinar series.

In this hour-long seminar, broadcasting journalist Dave Iverson will be joined by a panel of patients and clinicians, to discuss the challenges and treatment options for people with young-onset Parkinson’s disease.

Young-onset Parkinson’s is rare and only affects around 5–10% of those living with the condition. Despite experiencing similar symptoms to older people, those under 50 often face unique challenges and can think about taking different approaches to treatment.

It’s free to join the live webinar, just register here up to 15 minutes before the start time of 12:00 EST on 15 June. Listeners can submit their own questions to the panel while the discussion is happening in real time. And if you can’t make it for the live broadcast, catch the recording in the library archive here or on YouTube.

IN THE NEWS

Carefully selected news stories from the international Parkinson's community.

5 hours ago

Sniff test could detect Parkinson’s disease up to a decade earlier

A study has found that white adults with a poor sense of smell are almost five times more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease than those with a stronger smell sense. The research, published in the medical journal ‘Neurology’, found that there was not a statistically significant link between Parkinson’s and smell for black adults. Speculating on the reaction that people from different racial backgrounds had to the test, researchers said: “One possibility is that, compared to white participants, the etiology of olfactory dysfunction in black participants is more diverse and complex, and that Parkinson’s disease-related pathology is a relatively minor contributor.” The team emphasised that the findings should be interpreted with caution – and that further studies are needed before the smell tests can reach a clinical stage.

Spiral drawing test could detect early signs of Parkinson’s

Researchers from RMIT University, Australia, have developed a test that may be able to detect early Parkinson’s – before physical symptoms appear. During the test, participants draw a spiral using a tablet device, and computer software then measures their drawing speed and pen pressure to diagnose the condition. PhD researcher Poonam Zham led the study, published in ‘Frontiers of Neurology’, with the RMIT biomedical engineering research team. Working with Dandenong Neurology, the study involved 62 people diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Half had no visible symptoms and half ranged from mildly- to severely-affected. Professor Dinesh Kumar, chief investigator, said: “The customised software we’ve developed records how a person draws a spiral and analyses the data in real time. “With this tool we can tell whether someone has Parkinson’s disease and calculate the severity of their condition, with a 93% accuracy rate.” Image credit: RMIT University – Professor Dinesh Kumar and Poonam Zham

Asthma drug could halve chance of developing Parkinson’s

A recent study has found that a drug most commonly used for asthma may cut the chances of developing Parkinson’s. The research, carried out by Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts, US, found that those who inhaled salbutamol – a drug found in inhalers – were half as likely to develop the condition. In Parkinson’s disease, a protein named a-synuclein accumulates in various brain cells and can be fatal. To counter this, the research team grew human nerve cells and tested over 1000 medications, finding results to suggest salbutamol could cut the production of a-synuclein. Neurologist Anthony Lang, who works at the University of Toronto, Canada, said the results were “fascinating” and “had come out of the blue”. Despite some encouraging developments, Clemens Scherzer, who was a part of the research team, said clinical trials were “a few years off”.